


By Candlelight

by RetroactiveCon



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Family Dinners, Fluff, Gift Giving, Holidays, Jewish Leonard Snart, Light Dom/sub, Multi, Past Mick Rory/Leonard Snart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:13:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27947345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RetroactiveCon/pseuds/RetroactiveCon
Summary: "It’s a tradition I made with Mick…that now I get to share with you.”Both of them lean over to give him matching kisses on his cheeks. “It’s a delight to be invited to share your traditions,” Iris says warmly. “And to share ours with you.”
Relationships: Barry Allen/Leonard Snart/Iris West
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	By Candlelight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SophiaCatherine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophiaCatherine/gifts).



> Happy holidays, Soph! I did promise you more Coldwestallen - and they even managed to stay mostly fluffy!

Winter in Central City tends to bring with it a kind of gentle but fleeting snow. Iris has never seen Len look more disappointed than he does when the first snowfall of the season melts before lunchtime. 

“I ought to move north,” he grumbles, dusting powdered sugar over French toast with a particularly heavy hand. Iris tactfully doesn’t make comments about him taking out his frozen feelings on their brunch. 

“But if you moved north, we’d miss you.” She settles comfortably behind him, wraps her arms around his waist, and goes up on tiptoe to kiss his shoulder. Len makes her feel small in a way that Barry usually doesn’t, but it’s not bad. It means she gets to enjoy being the small but powerful Domme, staking her claim with little kisses like this one. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Barry raise his phone. Good. Their plan for Len’s gift is still on, then. 

Len turns around and catches her in his arms. Powdered sugar smears all over her lazy-day sweater, and she makes a noise of (almost) entirely feigned indignation. “I never said I’d move north without you.” He tips his head back to glance at Barry. “Well, maybe Scarlet wouldn’t like the cold weather as much as I do…”

“We both know you’re not going to move north, Mr. ‘Central is my home and you can’t get rid of me.’” Barry flashes over to join in the hugging. With a bright grin, he adds, “And no, I wouldn’t like it if it snowed a lot. You’ve seen me—I’m as vulnerable as everyone else to slipping on ice.”

“I know.” Len’s smirk is a shade too smug for someone who hasn’t used his cold gun for villainous stunts in almost a year. “I count on that.”

And then, not terribly long thereafter, they wake up to over a foot of snow. Iris thinks it’s beautiful and steps out on the porch to take pictures. Barry wraps himself up in a blanket and walks around with it like a cape. Len looks a little too innocent.

“Did you call in a favor with Mardon?” Barry accuses over piping-hot pancakes and steaming coffee. 

Len hums and sips his coffee. “Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies, Scarlet.” If he’s being this obvious about it, he wants to provoke them into reacting. Iris is grateful he’s a little more obvious now about when he’s fishing for reactions, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying. 

Still, if he wants a reaction, he’ll get one. She narrows her eyes and purses her lips in her most annoyed-Domme expression. “And this just happened to coincide with the Team Flash holiday party?” Len doesn’t look even remotely guilty. Iris sighs. “I thought you’d have timed it to keep us snowed in on Christmas Day to get out of dinner with my dad.”

“Oh, I never said I couldn’t call in two favors in a month,” Len corrects. He’s entirely unrepentant, even when Iris threatens him with a spanking. (She knows as well as her boys do that a spanking is never actually much of a punishment.) 

As it happens, the unexpected snow day does something else: it keeps them inside for the final day of Hanukkah. Thus far, Len has been lowkey about it except for the lighting of the candles, which makes him get adorably soft. (There’s a story there that he won’t tell them—Mick, maybe, or perhaps even a family association.) Now, with little else to do, he takes charge of the kitchen and even hums a tune while he cooks. Iris lurks and records, and gets a few pictures of him pretending not to notice her. 

“I thought you couldn’t cook,” Barry teases.

“Lies spread by Mick so that he gets to be the one to cook all the time.” Len gestures melodramatically with a spatula. “I can cook holiday food and comfort food. Healthy day to day meals? You’re out of luck.”

Iris laughs. She’s learned not to ask too many questions when he talks about his and Mick’s past. He’ll share what he wants them to know, but he has so many years’ worth of stories that it makes sense he wouldn’t want to tell all of them. “Barry’s the same way - he can make about three holiday foods and anything a college student would eat. Good thing I can order you both to find healthy recipes now and then.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Barry says meekly. Len just grins at them and turns back to the stove. 

They have an early, delicious, and slightly messy dinner. Barry eats so much that Iris worries he’ll make himself sick, even with his metabolism. (She just barely refrains from doing the same. The rest of Len’s cooking may occasionally be questionable, but damn, he’s in fine form tonight.) There isn’t much chatter; Iris, at least, is holding out for Len to take charge of the conversation this time. Perhaps sensing they want a story, Len sits back in his chair with a secretive little smile. 

“This is a reinvented version of the meal I used to have with my mother’s family,” he says. There’s a flicker of sadness in his eyes. Iris almost tells him that he doesn’t have to continue, but she bites her tongue. Not only would that risk him shutting down, when he’s started this story unprompted, but she’s too eager to hear what he has to say. “After she left…well, Lewis made it too difficult to observe anything except fasts.” Iris winces. He’s told them that part before, when Barry fretted too much over Len fasting for Yom Kippur. “So I got out of practice cooking holiday foods…and then Mick, with his love of cooking, bullied me into trying to remember.” He gives a little satisfied smile. “It’s not quite the same as the Hanukkah meals I used to have as a kid, but that’s all right, because it’s a tradition I made with him…that now I get to share with you.”

Both of them lean over to give him matching kisses on his cheeks. “It’s a delight to be invited to share your traditions,” Iris says warmly. “And to share ours with you.”

When they finish their dinner, Barry cleans up in a flash. Len sits back in his chair and makes a show of propping it up on the back two legs, despite Iris's scowl. "You know you spoil us, cleaning up so quickly, Scarlet."

"Yeah, well." Barry skids to a halt, flapping his hands as though to rid them of the sensory-bad feeling of dishwater. "I'm excited to see the candles lit. They're so pretty, and..." He trails off. Iris knows what he's thinking - that Len is the loveliest thing in a beautiful scene, with how at peace he looks. Unfortunately, Barry is right not to say it; Len will deflect and be awkward the rest of the night.

Len glances at the window. Outside, the last rays of sunset illuminate the snow, which is slightly less pretty after a day on the ground. It’s nonetheless so beautiful that Iris hurries to their big window. When she angles her camera just right, she’s able to snap a picture of the unlit menorah against a background of sunset snow. 

Behind her, she hears Len say, "Well, Scarlet, you don't have long to wait.” His sock feet make almost no noise on the living room carpet. The first Iris knows of his presence is his hand on her shoulder. “Amateur photographer now, as well as journalist?”

Iris glances up at him. “Kamilla’s influence,” she explains. “We got to talking about work, and she started talking about finding beauty in the mundane. Admittedly…” She holds up her phone and wiggles it back and forth. “It’s a lot easier to get beautiful artsy shots with a real camera and cool lenses and everything, but Snapchat filters do the work in a pinch.”

Len laughs and rubs his hand over her back. “Well, I look forward to see the collage of mundane holiday beauty when all of this is over.” It’s unknowingly close to his gift. Iris has to bite her lip so she doesn’t smile too obviously and give it all away. 

“And I look forward to impressing you with it,” she settles on. There. That seems suitably playful without being a complete giveaway. 

Len lights the menorah once the sun goes down. Iris doesn’t understand the blessings he recites over the candles, but she’s heard them enough by now to follow along phonetically. His voice is low and strong and matches his slow, sure movements as he touches the shamash to each candle in turn. Then he stands back and wraps his arms around them. In the now-complete darkness, the candles cast a lovely flickering light. 

“It’s beautiful,” Barry whispers. 

“Even more for being shared with the two of you.” It’s so quiet Iris almost doesn’t catch it. When she does, she leans up and gives Len a kiss. 

“We love you too,” she says. He gets an almost wistful look and doesn't stop cuddling her until the candles burn down. 

Of course that sweet mood can’t last through Christmas with the family. Iris has offered to host for a few reasons: to give Len a chance to retreat to the bedroom if things get too crowded for him (an opportunity he wouldn’t have at Joe’s house), and to keep her dad and Cecile from having to get ready for guests while looking after Jenna. Both Barry and Len claimed to be fine with this plan when it was first laid out. On the night of, Len gets twitchy. 

“Are you sure I shouldn’t just…make for a safe house or something, come back later?” He throws a nervous glance at the door—the fifth in as many minutes. Iris’s temper, already short because of all the cooking, snaps. 

“ _Enough,_ Leonard. You are going to stay, and you’re going to like it.” Her hand presses between his shoulder blades hard enough to jolt him forward a bit. He mewls indignantly even as the tension melts out of his shoulders. 

“Yes, Mistress,” he murmurs, all-but-inaudibly. This turns out to be a good thing, as the door opens to admit Wally and Linda that very same moment. Had they heard…well, Len might not have been mortified, but Iris certainly would be. 

“Hey, what’s up?” Despite being specifically told not to, Barry speeds over to greet Wally. Unable to resist a challenge, Wally runs to meet him. Their hug sends all the napkins fluttering off the table and nearly blows over a table lamp. Iris heaves a sigh. Barry will hear about that later. 

“What did I tell you two about powers in the house?” she asks. Despite her annoyance, she clasps both of them in a hug. “You’re both lucky you’re cute.”

“And don’t we know it,” Wally laughs. “Thanks for hosting, Iris.”

“Your place looks amazing.” Linda turns a delighted circle. When she catches sight of Len, she gives him a playful onceover. “Domestic life suits you. And here I thought you finally figured out your thing for bad boys, Iris.” 

“Domestic life,” Len grumbles. Louder and more cheerfully, he says, “Hello to you too.”

Linda has barely begun to catch them up on her latest project, a photo archive of all the meta photos taken since the particle accelerator explosion, when Joe and Cecile arrive. Barry speeds over to let them in. ( _That’s two_ , Iris thinks, grimly satisfied. One more and Barry earns himself a spanking for later.) Cecile steps through the door first, carrying a ceramic dish in both hands. Behind her, Joe has a paper bag full of gifts in one hand and baby Jenna strapped to his chest. 

“Hi!” Iris hurries over to clasp Cecile in a careful hug. When they part, she takes the pleasantly warm dish and carries it into the kitchen for later. She calls over her shoulder, “Now it’s really a party!”

“Yeah, well, keep it PG,” Joe remarks. From the tone of his voice, Iris suspects he’s glaring at Len. “Don’t wanna traumatize poor Jenna.”

“I’m wounded, Detective.” Underneath the deliberately strong Cold drawl, Iris actually does detect a note of hurt. "You really think I would hurt your daughter?”

“That’s the question that’s always on my mind.” Iris turns around just in time to see her dad’s eyes flit to her. She refrains from heaving a sigh. His and Len’s ongoing issues are taxing, and she has no wish to deal with them tonight. 

“So.” Sensing the rising tension, Cecile interjects. “Who wants eggnog?”

Barry and Wally exchange a knowing glance. Before Wally speaks up, Iris knows what he’ll say. (Speedsters think with their stomachs first.) “Now that everyone’s here, should we eat while the food’s still hot?”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Iris blurts. Without looking at her dad or Len, she hurries to get food on the table. 

Somehow, there’s enough food to handle two speedsters’ appetites with plenty for the rest of them. To Iris’s delight, Barry helps himself to seconds and thirds without even a flicker of guilt. She’ll have to reward him for that. Usually, he’s ashamed of how much he has to eat. If she can encourage him to look after himself like this more often, she’ll do whatever it takes. 

After they eat, Wally and Barry handle the dishes. Because they do so at superspeed, they also help themselves to the few leftovers along the way. 

“I was really looking forward to taking home the rest of the stuffing,” Cecile laments. 

Iris laughs and wraps her arm around her. “It went to a good cause. I sure didn’t want to have to do the dishes.”

Wally and Barry return to the living room making identical faces of disgust. “Sensory bad, sensory bad,” Barry chants, settling in Len’s lap. “Save me from the superspeed sensory bad.”

“Yeah.” Wally tucks himself up against Linda’s side. She rests her cheek against the top of his head. “What he said.”

“So.” Joe looks between his distressed sons and nudges the paper bag with his toe. “I guess presents wouldn’t make you feel any better? All that crinkling paper and…”

“Presents?” Both of them perk up. Iris covers a laugh. Over Barry’s shoulder, she sees Len hide his smile by kissing Barry's neck. 

Iris, Barry, and Len save their presents for each other for later, when they can be alone. That’s fine; there are plenty of presents to open even without those, except for Len. Iris feels so bad, opening her gifts and watching Len receive nothing. 

“I’m okay,” Len soothes, when Barry makes sad noises at him. He tightens his arms around Barry’s waist. “I’d have a hard time opening presents and cuddling you, and I know where my priorities lie.”

Iris leans over to kiss him on the cheek. “I’ll make it up to you,” she promises. She can’t fault her family for not buying anything for Len; none of them really know him well enough to guess what he’d like. At least she knows he’ll enjoy his present from her and Barry, when they get there. 

Everyone lingers over eggnog, discussing their gifts and holiday plans. Iris is delighted to hear that later in the week, Joe and Cecile plan to leave Jenna with Joanie and go out for date night. Wally and Linda say they’re heading out of town, though Iris doesn’t get details of where they’re going. She gathers it’s for a winter photo shoot Linda hopes to do, the results of which she’s eager to see. 

It’s lovely to spend uninterrupted, casual, lazy time with her family. Iris is still glad when it’s time for them to go. She loves them, but she also wants a quiet night with her boys. 

“More presents?” Barry asks hopefully. He burrows his head into the crook of Len’s neck. “I’m still sad you didn’t have anything to open earlier.”

Len grimaces. “I’m not. I don’t want Detective West thinking I owe him anything for a cheap gift…especially not on a night that means nothing to me.”

Iris raises her eyebrows. “Oh really, it means nothing? This from the man who told us no when we offered a gift exchange on Hanukkah?”

Len looks blank. “Hanukkah was never about gifts, not for me,” he explains slowly. “I mean, as a kid, yes, but…as an adult, it was really about the peace that came at sundown, lighting the candles and sharing that with…well, Mick, first, because I couldn’t deny him the chance to stare at fire…and now with you.” He looks around the house as though he’s taking in the slightly messy aftermath of family time. “But this… for the two of you, this _is_ about gifts. I wanted to wait until…” He trails off—maybe unsure of his phrasing, maybe questioning his own logic. It’s so cute that Iris has to kiss him. 

“You’re sweet,” she says. Fleetingly, she wishes her family could see the sweet, thoughtful man Len really is, but she supposes it’s by design that they can’t. Len views this side of himself as private, to be shared only with a few. (Iris doesn’t like the idea that he sees it as weakness, though she can see why he might.) “Let us be sweet to you in turn, after you were the odd one out all night.”

They each have only a few gifts to open, but that’s all right; they’re thoughtful. From Barry, Iris receives a box of cherry cordials, a bottle of bubble bath, and a smaller bottle of sweet-scented massage oil. 

“Consider it the ‘Mistress Iris needs a break’ gift,” Barry says impishly. “Your subs, of course, are at your disposal.” He nods at Len. Iris raises her eyebrows. 

“Well then. I see this was a joint decision.”

“He ran it past me to see if I was agreeable to the spa day, yeah.” Len taps the next-largest box. “But if you’re asking if we went in on a gift together, only this one. Barry found all that on his own.”

Iris is curious now, but determined to save the joint gift for last. Instead, she opens Len’s neatly-wrapped package. Inside is a slim silver chain with a snowflake-cut purple gemstone—not amethyst, Iris thinks. She’s not sure what it is. 

“It’s beautiful,” she murmurs. 

Len’s eyes flit down to his own fingers, tapping out a rhythm on his thigh. “I wanted to give you a chance to…well, to wear our connection,” he explains. “Can’t put a ring on your finger. Got a long way to go before they legalize polyamorous marriages. So…the necklace seemed like the next best thing.”

Hearing it explained like that makes Iris lean in and kiss him. “I love it. I’ll wear it with pride.”

Barry clears his throat softly. “So, uh, after that sweet moment, the present that we went in on together is gonna be a real change in tone.”

Iris raises her eyebrow. “You bought me a sex toy?” When they both get little guilty grins, she laughs. “I guess it makes sense for you to go in on it together. You’ll both end up playing with it, after all, I’m sure.”

They went in together for a fantasy dildo for her strap-on. Iris shouldn’t tease, but this is just too cute. “Oh, yes. Absolutely, both of you are going to get to try this. Maybe even tonight, if you’re very good.”

Barry perks up. “Yes, yes, I can be good!” 

Iris reaches over and taps his little pile of presents. “Then go ahead and open what we got you.”

Without planning it, her and Len’s gifts end up coordinating. She’d gotten Barry a weighted blanket (though with all the cuddles he gets now, she’s not sure he’ll need it). Len has gotten him a cooling pillowcase, which will be incredibly useful. Barry runs so hot that having covers on can sometimes keep him from sleeping; hopefully the cold will put him right out.

They’d also gone in together to buy Barry a pretty, all-red bondage set: red rope, red-leather padded cuffs, a cherry-red ball gag, and a new red-leather leash that matches his collar. Barry blushes to match his new toys upon opening the package. 

“Gonna make yourselves a new present to unwrap when we’re all done?” he squeaks. 

“Well, yes,” Len singsongs. “Did you expect otherwise, sweet boy?”

Then it’s Len’s turn. Iris feels a bit bad that he only has one present, so she rushes to explain. “Barry and I really struggled with what to get you, because…well, you seem content, now. Like you have everything you need. I mean, even in terms of kinky toys, you’re pretty well set.”

He laughs and nods. “You could say that. Combining our toyboxes did a lot in that regard.”

“So.” Iris taps his package, which is big and flat. “We thought this might do.”

Len unwraps the package with such care that the wrapping paper suffers only the smallest of tears. He scoots out the present inside and stares at the wide leather cover. “A photo album?” he guesses. His voice sounds shockingly small. 

Iris doesn’t know what to make of that little wounded voice. Barry has to be the one to coax, “Open it.”

Len obeys. Inside are dozens of photos Barry and Iris have taken since he came to live with them—selfies of the three of them posing together; surreptitious photos of him cuddling one of them, sleeping, or cooking; pictures of dates they’ve had to the park or the ice rink or the waterfront. After they got the photos printed, Iris went through and meticulously labeled the back of each one with the date and a short description. 

“You must have worked on this all year.” His voice is steady, but a tear drips down his cheek to fall onto the plastic photo sleeve. 

“Pretty close,” Iris admits. She rubs her hand over Len’s shoulder. “You’re happy with it?”

He closes the cover and hugs the album to his chest. “So happy,” he agrees quietly. “Thank you both so much.”

“We love you,” Barry whispers. He settles his chin on Len’s shoulder and snuggles him. “And spending time with you is a gift.”

Len’s voice only holds a trace of its usual snarky bite. “You’re gonna make me blush, Scarlet.”

Iris nuzzles against his other side. “Softie,” she teases gently. “My dad doesn’t see it, but Linda was right. Domestic life has you all soft and sweet.”

“Careful, or I’ll tie you up right alongside Barry,” Len threatens. 

“Is that a promise?” Iris teases. When Len just smirks, she coos, “Happy holidays to me,” and does everything in her power to make sure he follows through.


End file.
